{"id":4226,"date":"2019-05-31T17:25:43","date_gmt":"2019-05-31T08:25:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=4226"},"modified":"2019-06-06T11:35:46","modified_gmt":"2019-06-06T02:35:46","slug":"restaurant-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2019\/05\/recommendations\/restaurant-business\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cInside N. Korea\uff1e Kitchen Nightmare: Cash-Strapped Regime Competes Against Citizens in the Restaurant Business"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Photo) Colorful dishes of pork, vegetables, and buckwheat noodles being served at an outdoor restaurant near the market. Photographed in South Pyongan Province in June, 2005 by Lee Jun (ASIAPRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u25c6Kim Jong-un\u2019s funds take a hard hit<\/h2>\n

Who are the most powerful people in North Korea? It was common opinion among residents that, outside of government officials, employees of trading companies were the most powerful. In the last 2 years, however, much has changed. (Kang Ji-won)<\/p>\n

Due to economic sanctions, North Korea\u2019s trade with China in 2018 was cut to less than half of the previous year\u2019s total, with exports falling by a staggering 88%. As if making a decisive blow, Chinese authorities stepped up customs inspections this year, resulting in North Korean exports to China decreasing year-on-year by 20% from January to March.<\/p>\n

In addition, Chinese authorities have cracked down on smuggling at the border, leaving North Korean trading companies utterly helpless. From the \u2018Kangsung Trading Company\u2019, operating under the Ministry of People\u2019s Armed Forces, to the \u2018Moran Company\u2019, which generates funds for the regime under the supervision of \u2018Room 39\u2019 of the Workers' Party, staff have been reassigned and regional offices have had to be shut down.<\/p>\n

In North Korea, trading companies are assigned quotas, called \u2018tasks\u2019, to make payments to the state. In 2018, with international sanctions coming into full swing, officials of trading companies, stationed in China, were under severe pressure from Pyongyang to meet their quotas. There were even some who, while working abroad, chose to flee for fear of punishment by the regime.<\/p>\n

Eventually, following the collapse of the Hanoi Summit in February, and with it, the regime\u2019s hopes of lifting the sanctions, the North Korean authorities decided to reduce the quotas set for each trading company.<\/p>\n

In mid-May, a reporting partner, well-versed in the affairs of trading companies, and living in Hyesan, in Ryanggang Province, gave the following account of the internal situation:<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of the trading companies operating in the Hyesan area last year saw their profits fall below 30% of the targeted amount and, this year too, they only reached halfway. The government can no longer criticize or punish the officials they judge responsible. The \u2018Baekdu Miryeong Company\u2019, a large company based in Hyesan City, was responsible for smuggling goods to and from China, making $70,000 for the state last year under sanctions. This year, however, it will be difficult for them to make even $50,000.\u201d
\nNext page : Trading companies give up on trade, compete with citizens running private restaurants...<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25c6 Trading companies give up on trade, compete with citizens running private restaurants<\/h2>\n

According to the reporting partner, most of the trading companies that exported to China are now, instead, operating restaurants and shops. To raise capital, they have partnered with emerging wealthy elites, known as \u2018donju\u2019.<\/p>\n

This development came as quite a shock to local residents who were running small, private restaurants outside markets or out of their homes. Threatened with charges of \u2018anti-socialist\u2019 behavior, they have been banned from operating their private businesses.<\/p>\n

The market economy began to grow in North Korea when a large number of citizens, unwilling to continue working at state-run companies for little to no salary or rations, instead found ways to bribe their supervisors to excuse their absences, freeing them up to pursue private business. One typical private market activity is selling food, with vendors selling homemade bread and rice cakes on the street or, instead, turning their homes into restaurants to cook for paying customers.<\/p>\n

In North Korea, individual economic activity is strictly controlled and is technically illegal. Despite this, private restaurants have gained significant popularity, with some even taking orders for delivery by phone.<\/p>\n

Struggling to make any revenue due to sanctions, North Korean trading companies have now turned to the restaurant business. Their aim- to get their hands on the cash in domestic circulation in order to meet their quotas.<\/p>\n

Private restaurant owners, however, are strong competitors. Though, the government, since last year, has been cracking down nationwide, constantly shutting down and limiting the size of private restaurants. This leaves ordinary people, facing a crisis, as they try to make a living in a country that is pitted against them.<\/p>\n

\"The authorities are not allowing the people to eat,\u201d the reporting partner says, sparking strong opposition.<\/p>\n

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